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January 3, 2007 |
Volume
1, Number 13 |
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Christmas in Alotau: Disclaimer: if you are in the
throws of winter cabin fever caution is advised if you choose to continue
reading! Jeri and I had
a very different, but extremely enjoyable holiday season together. For my birthday (Dec. 21st)
Jeri arranged for Hannah to stay with the Williams while we went to the
beach. We spend a lot of time
snorkeling, reading on the beach, and talking. That evening we treated ourselves to
dinner at the International Hotel.
Getting in the Christmas season was assisted by some Christmas
DVD’s that arrived just in time to put us in the Christmas spirit (Thank
you to the Chitwood family). Then
to make things even better a support group from Lander, WY and some of our
friends in Oklahoma sent books, Ranch dressing, taco seasoning, and even
Koolaid to help us feel just a little more ‘at home’. On Christmas day
we opened presents, went for a swim at a local hotel, and ate chicken and
shrimp for dinner. A Very Merry
South Pacific Christmas. On Boxing
Day (the Americans will have to Google Boxing Day to learn more) we went to
another beach and did some more swimming and snorkeling - this time with
Hannah. After four
days of resting and relaxing we felt very renewed and rejuvenated.
Jeri and
Hannah opening the care package from the Lander, WY church
Hannah
doesn’t have to be in every picture – does she? Our mailing
address: Craig and Jeri Ford Alotau,
MBP 211 E-mail
OR Prayer Requests: o
Delay with the
construction of the house. Pray
specifically for us as we try to be patient through this latest ordeal. My poor wife moved out of our home in o
Contacts in the
community. Pray that as we meet
individuals we will be able to discern those who are willing to pursue a
relationship with God. o
Evangelistic
studies with Negila group and Cathy o
An openness to
the gospel so we can reach people through evangelism o
Development of
additional male leadership o
Jeri’s
pregnancy We thank each one of
you for your prayers and support.
May God Bless You! |
We just wanted to let everyone know
that our plans are to start doing a bimonthly newsletter in 2007. Look for our next newsletter February
2007.
Alotua, Church lnvolvement: As December 25th approached
many things came to a halting stop.
With so many people traveling many studies were put on hold and others
poorly attended. Christmas
combines both ‘summer holidays’ and ‘Christmas
break’. It is very common
for people to return to their village for the holidays. On the 20th
we finished our Wednesday night study of the Gospel of Mark. We actually started the study within a
month of our arrival so after about 6 months we finally made it to the
end. We had a celebration where
we ate together and watched a movie on the night of our last study. This month I
started a new evangelistic study with a young lady named Cathy who has
faithfully been attending church.
She has yet to enter fully into a covenant relationship with Christ
and my prayer is that our studies can lead her to accept Christ as the Master
of her life through baptism. On December 24th,
the Williams family hosted a Christmas party. Everyone from Town, Gama, and Negila
was invited so we had a group of around 100 people. We sang, ate, and enjoyed fun skits,
songs, and drama. Earlier in the
afternoon all the youth went to the hospital and sang Christmas carols while
handing out presents for the patients.
This was certianly a highlight of the day for our family. Emily (girl on the right) has been working with the
church here as an intern. She did
a great job and grew a lot while she was here. Emily left to go back to Feature
Activity: Youth Bible Competition
On December 2nd we hosted a Bible competition for the youth. On Sunday morning we have separate
young mens and young ladies classes.
We decided to encourage learning by organizing a ‘Bible
competition’ at the end of our three month study of Judges. We started off with an individual
written test and then moved along to the group challenge. I am happy to report that the boys won. More important we were able to see some
tremendous results among all the students. Biblical literacy is lacking and
events like this help motivate learning.
We are currently studying the book of Acts and will have a similar
challenge when this section is finished.
Of course, we finished up with some fun games! House: If you remember our remarks on our
house last month, they were certainly seasoned with a great deal of
optimism. Unfortunately, things
have not gone exactly as planned.
The construction on our house has been suspended indefintely. It seems as though the real estate
company (Raven Estates) owes money to the company that built the road and
installed the water (Nawae Constrution).
In the middle of everything our house is being built by Nawae. Nawae has susupended all construction,
including our house, until they are paid by Raven. We are blessed, however, to be able to
live in an apartment at Nawae until the house is done. As I write this newsletter it is
anyone’s guess as to when the house construction will continue again
and thus when our house will be completed. The picture shows our lonely house as
it waits to be completed. Family News This month
Jeri and I made public some very exciting news. Jeri is pregnant J. Our
little baby is due to arrive on July 21st, 2007. Also, my older
brother, Trevor, is getting married in 2007. Jeri and I decided, with permission
from the eldership at Champions, to go ahead and take our furlough in 2007
rather than the scheduled 2008.
This would allow us to attend my brother’s wedding. Since we were going to be in Check it out: o
Visit our blog:
pngfords.blogspot.com J o
Visit the church website: www.championschurch.org |
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